The Herald’s series on homelessness in Durango sparked my interest in looking at possible solutions for our city. One place to look is our neighboring state of Utah, where, according to a Feb. 15 article in Business Insider, the number of people living on the streets has been reduced by nearly 75 percent. The entire state now has fewer than 300 people who are homeless – and the solution also saves taxpayer money.
How is Utah achieving such success? It is providing permanent housing to the homeless. Those who choose to accept the offer of permanent housing pay either $50 per month or 30 percent of their income, whichever is greater. They also work with a social worker to begin transitioning into mainstream society.
The average cost of not building permanent housing for a homeless person (shelters, ambulances, sometimes even jail stays), is about $20,000 per year. The cost of providing permanent housing and a social worker is $8,000 per year. Providing permanent housing would actually be a superb example of curbing excessive government spending. And, there’s reason enough to embrace this policy if you believe our government should adhere to Judeo-Christian teachings. Isaiah 58:7 reads, “share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house ... then shall your light break forth like the dawn.”
Try as I can, I can’t find a single verse in the Bible that tells believers to ignore the poor and homeless or blame them for their situation. I encourage my fellow citizens and political leaders of Durango to create a permanent housing complex to address this issue.
Matt Dooley
Durango
